Soundsmith/B&O Cartridge Advice Please

soulfarmer

soulfarmer

Active Member
My B&O turntable has reached the point of no repair. I have a Soundsmith SMMC 3 and a SMMC4. They are both pretty well used. My records indicate I got the SMMC 3 in 2010. I know the 4 came even earlier.

Is it worth it to get these restored by Soundsmith? Would they be worth anything to other folks, or should I just toss them in the trash?

Thanks,
J
 
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Pick up another B&O turntable? I see them come up on C/L for around $200.00. A good cart can do a thousand hours, how many do you guestimate yours have done? And if you need to get them retipped it's going to be around that same as a new regular cart.

Just my 2 cents.
 
HypnoToad said:
Pick up another B&O turntable? I see them come up on C/L for around $200.00. A good cart can do a thousand hours, how many do you guestimate yours have done? And if you need to get them retipped it's going to be around that same as a new regular cart.

Just my 2 cents.
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B&O tts are just too hard to repair at this point IMO. Parts are scarce and people who repair them seem to be few and far between. Time for me to move on.
 
soulfarmer said:
Maybe I will pick up his cart converter and continue to use the 3.
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That cart converter allows you to use B&O cartridges in a standard 1/2" arm. It won't be useful on your B&O turntable.
Although they made some very nice turntables, I have given up on them just because of the weird cartridge and it's costs.
Rick
 
There are plenty of good running B&O's around that need a cartridge, cheap. They are a bitch to work on, I've have 5 over the years, but not impossible. Plus many don't need any work at all and will run for years. I'd look for a cheap used one if I were you. I run across them all the time.
 
gridleakrick said:
That cart converter allows you to use B&O cartridges in a standard 1/2" arm. It won't be useful on your B&O turntable.
Although they made some very nice turntables, I have given up on them just because of the weird cartridge and it's costs.
Rick
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I plan on my next table to be more "traditional" with a 1/2" arm.
 
mhardy6647 said:
they don't?!? :-( so the SMMC-4 (e.g.) isn't an MMC-4 clones, then, eh?
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Not sure what you are asking.

Soundsmith specifically lists the TX2 as a table they will not work on.

The SMMC4 is their bottom of the line B&O cart. They don't make a 5. AFAIK, Soundsmith carts are clones or very close designs of the original B&O carts.
 
oh. sorry. too much goin' on for an old guy, I guess.
I was just all verklempt because I know there's an MMC-4 on my TX-2... I put it there.

I can't blame anyone for not wanting to work on a TX-2 in this day & age, though.
 
Get an adapter for the cartridges or sell them on to someone who has an use for them - B&O carts can be hard to come by and if they still have hours left on them, there's plenty of folks who need carts (or even if they need to be retipped, some still might need them)... I get your feeling to want to get out of the B&O turntables - I had one for a while, though never as a main table since it had a bad stylus and while it was a pretty awesome table in it's own way and a classic design piece (it was one of those early Jacob Jensen designs) I sold it on because I didn't want the hassle of owning something that requires special cartridges.
 
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